The political center in Europe is moving away from building big tents and starting to erect walls. Events from the last 48 hours show that the strategy of isolation is evolving into a tool for eliminating not only enemies but also inconvenient allies.
The French Dismantling of Unity. The paradox of the first round of municipal elections in France on March 15, 2026, is not the result of the far right, but the left's reaction to its own success. Emmanuel Grégoire in Paris and Benoît Payan in Marseille rejected an alliance with the radical La France Insoumise (LFI), even though electoral mathematics would suggest consolidation. This decision means that the second round in Marseille will see the rare phenomenon of a „quadrangulaire” – a clash of four lists, which increases the risk of the city being taken over by the Rassemblement National (RN).
Mainstream leaders of the Socialist Party are consciously risking the loss of power in France's second-largest city to avoid legitimizing Jean-Luc Mélenchon's group. Manuel Bompard of the LFI publicly warned that a lack of agreement could hand Marseille to the far right, yet Payan's circle remained unmoved. This is a redefinition of the concept of the cordon sanitaire: the barrier now separates the Socialists not only from Le Pen's right wing but also from radicalism within their own camp. The calculation is cold: the center prefers to lose a local battle than to lose its identity in the eyes of moderate voters.
The French electoral system in municipal elections promotes broad coalitions in the second round, which traditionally forced the left to unite under the banner of the „republican front.” In 2026, this mechanism jammed on the line between the Socialists and the LFI. At the same time, in Germany, the anti-nuclear consensus, finalized with the shutdown of the last power plants in April 2023, is currently being challenged by the largest Bavarian party, creating a new line of division in federal politics.
The Bavarian Breach in the Consensus. A similar process of drawing sharp boundaries is occurring in Germany, where Markus Söder, the Premier of Bavaria, called on March 15, 2026, for the construction of pilot SMRs. The CSU leader is deliberately striking at the foundation of German energy policy just three years after the country's final exit from nuclear power. Berlin's reaction was immediate: Nina Scheer of the SPD described the plan as „insanity,” pointing to technical risks.
„Wahnsinnig — SMR sind risikoreicher als herkömmliche Meiler” (Insane — SMRs are riskier than conventional reactors) — Nina Scheer via Spiegel Online
Söder is using SMR technology as political leverage, positioning Bavaria in opposition to the federal government and in line with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who has signaled support for the technology. The Bavarian premier is not seeking a compromise with the Greens; he is building his position on their total negation. This action is symmetrical to the French one: instead of seeking the lowest common denominator, political actors are radicalizing their positions, hoping to mobilize their core electorate.
The Binary Logic of Power. The strategy of total differentiation has been perfected by Viktor Orbán. During a rally in Budapest, which according to ANSA gathered 100,000 people, the Hungarian Prime Minister reduced the elections scheduled for April 12 to a choice between himself and the President of Ukraine. Orbán does not debate the economy with opposition figure Péter Magyar; he casts Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the role of his opponent.
In parallel, the European Union is applying its own form of isolation, refusing to yield to Donald Trump's pressure regarding involvement in a war in Iran. Brussels is drawing a red line against Washington, despite the escalation of the conflict and the change of power in Tehran in favor of Mojtaba Khamenei. In each of these cases – from Marseille to Munich to Budapest – politics is ceasing to be the art of negotiation. It is becoming the engineering of division, where identity is built solely by indicating who one will absolutely not sit at the table with.
The Illusion of Purity. Critics of this strategy might argue that Payan's refusal to cooperate with the LFI or Söder's with the federal government is merely an electoral tactic that will disappear after the polls close. However, political history teaches us otherwise. The decision for a „quadrangulaire” in Marseille could permanently hand the city to the right, and Bavarian persistence on nuclear power could permanently block Germany's energy transition through decision-making paralysis.
If Benoît Payan loses Marseille to the RN candidate, and Markus Söder fails to build a single reactor, their principled stance will remain politically sterile. The strategy of isolation is effective in a campaign but devastating in governing. Erecting walls defines identity well, but it rarely solves the problems those walls were meant to keep out.
Perspektywy mediów: The left in Paris and Marseille sees distancing itself from the LFI as a necessary return to responsibility and credibility in the eyes of centrist voters, even at the cost of electoral risk. The right, both in France (RN) and in Hungary (Fidesz), interprets the divisions in the liberal camp as proof of its weakness and inability to govern effectively.